SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Embraer SA was the “harmed party” in the trade fight between Boeing Co and Bombardier Inc, the Brazilian jetmaker’s commercial aviation boss said on Wednesday.

The U.S. trade commission last month handed an unexpected victory to Bombardier against Boeing, in a ruling that allows the Canadian company to sell its newest jets to U.S. airlines without heavy duties.

Embraer, a more direct competitor to Bombardier in the market for smaller passenger jets, is backing a separate Brazilian government complaint against Canada at the World Trade Organization, Embraer Commercial Aviation CEO John Slattery said.

“We were the harmed party,” he told Reuters at the Singapore Airshow. “Illegal subsidies were given both by the federal government and the state of Quebec to Bombardier. In addition to that Bombardier sold the aircraft in the North American market below cost.”

Reporting by Jamie Freed and Tim HepherEditing by Muralikumar Anantharaman